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Spinnbruder? | ||
Tags: Meaning of words | German | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Questions About Your Target Languages |  | |
| Suzie Diglot Senior Member Belgium Joined 4227 days ago 155 posts - 226 votes  Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Dutch | Message 9 of 13 07 December 2013 at 8:34pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Please be cheeky :-)
I'm German, and have just moved to Belgium a few months ago for a new job. I am afraid both my French and Dutch would be a lot better if I were Belgian.... :-) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| montmorency Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4826 days ago 2371 posts - 3676 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Danish, Welsh | Message 10 of 13 09 December 2013 at 11:52pm | IP Logged | |||||
:-) Ah well, I'm sure they will improve. I visited the German speaking areas decades ago on a youth exchange trip, but I knew little German in those days. I've been near them (I think) more recently when travelling by slow stopping trains from Brussels to Aachen (partly to save money, and partly because I find that area interesting, and I like to linger). One day I'd like to spend more time there (instead of just passing through), and investigate the language spectrum around the border areas. Moving on from Spinnbruder to another obscure German word: This time from "Hinter Pflug und Schraubstock" by Max Eyth, which is an old book, now in the public domain. In this sentence: "In einer solchen Nacht hinaus in die weite, nasse, fremde Welt? Keines der Schiffe entlang dem dämmerigen Staden, das nicht den Kopf schüttelte!" Do you, or does anyone have an idea as to how best to translate "Staden"? It's not in any of my dictionaries or the usual online ones, that I can find. These are ships in a port or harbour, so I'm guess it might be something like "quay", although there is at least one other word for that (der Kai). Perhaps it is an old word that has fallen out of use. Edited by montmorency on 10 December 2013 at 12:05am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Suzie Diglot Senior Member Belgium Joined 4227 days ago 155 posts - 226 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Dutch | Message 11 of 13 10 December 2013 at 7:46am | IP Logged | |||||
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Hi Montmoncery,
It is an old expression for "Ufer", and I think short for "Gestaden". For advanced vocabulary like this I can recommend you the Duden, where I look up a lot myself, too. I learn a lot about my native language by reading their email newsletter :-). I have just tested "Spinnbruder" as well, and am totally surprised that this is listed as well :-)!! I see you are studying Welsh, how awesome...Are you currently living in Wales? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| montmorency Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4826 days ago 2371 posts - 3676 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Danish, Welsh | Message 12 of 13 10 December 2013 at 5:44pm | IP Logged | |||||
Wunderschön! Vielen Dank! Das passt genau. I should have thought of Duden. I do use it from time to time, but perhaps subconsciously I find it a bit intimidating :-)
No, but via my wife, I have a sort of long on and off connection with Wales and Welsh. Her family, although originally from England, lived in Wales when she was at primary school, and she learned it at school, as did her brother, and the parents also studied it to some extent, and even when they moved away from Wales, the parents kept up their interest in Welsh. My wife still understands the basics (especially the pronunciation rules), but has forgotten a lot of the vocabulary. Her brother moved to Wales as an adult, and still lives there. The parents moved back there in old age. So, we have a sort of ongoing relationship with Wales, but I have never lived there. I started to learn, for no particular reason, but encouraged by my in-laws, in the 1980s, but didn't get very far. However, it's always been on my wish list ever since. More recently, I suppose I was partly inspired by the various people on here learning Celtic languages, especially the various TAC teams, until one day I decided it was time to stop just watching other people doing it, and do something myself, so here I am :-) (Not in a TAC team, as it happens ... that doesn't really work for me, but there is a very supportive Welsh- learning online community on the SaySomethingInWelsh.com forum). As you probably know, some form of Celtic was almost certainly spoken in parts of England, and not just in Wales, Scotland and Ireland, before the days of Old English (and in some areas, side by side with Old English, probably), so I like to think of Welsh as a sort of "heritage language" that is worth supporting and holding on to. Edited by montmorency on 10 December 2013 at 5:47pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Suzie Diglot Senior Member Belgium Joined 4227 days ago 155 posts - 226 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Dutch | Message 13 of 13 11 December 2013 at 6:45pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Hi Montmorency, thanks for this, I understand your motives very well. I like the sound of Welsh (and of the other Celtic languages), and would be happy if I could dig into this language as well one day....
All the best for your language learning! 1 person has voted this message useful |
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